Posts Tagged ‘Hawker Food’

Penang is a food haven and the variety ranges from appetizing hawker food, contemporary cuisine and of course, seafood. For those craving seafood meals, you’re spoilt for choice with the many seafood restaurants on both the mainland and the island.

Just ask around and the locals will proudly recommend their seafood places. There are some right on the beach with views of fishing boats and fishermen hauling in the day’s catch. However, if you prefer dining indoors with air-conditioning, there are many restaurants conveniently located within Penang towns.

There is a comprehensive selection of seafood to choose from in the display counter of seafood restaurants such as crabs, mussels, prawns, clams, fish, oysters and many more. Whether you want them grilled, steamed, chilled, deep-fried or baked, choosing fresh seafood can take some time. Fear not, here are a few tips that will help you order the best seafood meal you’ve ever had.

Jalan Raja Uda in Butterworth is overloaded with many hawker food stalls and some has since become beloved local dining spots. One such spot is the tom yam noodle stall located in a shoplot beside the SRJK (C) Kwong Wah Primary School. Due to not having a signboard, most customers brand it as the Kwong Wah Tom Yam for its near distance to the Chinese school.

Heeding my friend’s advice, I headed out to Kareem Pasembur Rojak stall. This little pasembur stall opening on the side of Union Street in Penang is constantly packed at lunch hour, with a line of people from the surrounding offices.

Traveling is also part of discovering new eating places. This second part of my Kuala Lumpur food article continues with many more interesting dining places.

It is an absolutely great meaty meal at El Cerdo located on Changkat Bukit Bintang. Together with some friends, we sampled El Cerdo’s notable dish of suckling pig and other dishes like Iberico ribs, sausage platter and seafood paella.

The half size piglet is priced at RM188. The waiter gestured us to cut the piglet with a plate. Not only is it a memorable experience for us but the food also delighted our taste buds. The suckling piglet done with amazingly crispy skin and soft meat with melting fat had everyone asking for seconds.

Among the choices of desserts, we had the raspberry sherbet and the rum and raisin ice cream. The latter is far better of the two.

Our trips to Kuala Lumpur had us visiting many places, savoring the city’s food and staying at Aloft Kuala Lumpur Sentral. Recommended by friends Alison and Narelle, the hotel with a casual, hip vibe offers solid bed to help us sleep through the nights.

The hotel is a convenient place of accommodation, especially for those who do not have transport as it is located opposite the KL Sentral transportation hub.

Besides dubbed as the top state for hawker food, Penang also offers places to indulge for high-end flavors. Follow me as I uncover the luxurious flavors in the island.

Chin’s Stylish Chinese Restaurant

A flamboyant restaurant at the end of Church Street Pier, Chin’s Stylish Chinese Cuisine serves cuisine leaning towards the Hunan and Szechuan style. The restaurant is run by Dave Chin, a long time entrepreneur in restaurant business and has earned several prestigious awards in his London restaurant during the 8o’s and 90’s.

The Cecil Street Market Food Court in Penang has wafting aromas of food emanating from its rows of hawker stalls. You can find just about any hawker food in the large food court, commonly known as “chit teow lor ban san” (7th road market), named after the well-known market located right beside it. The last few years saw the upgrading of this food court that gave it its more polished eating environment, but the price and serving portion remain reasonable.

A firm favourite is the koay teow thng from Lum Lai, flat rice noodle served in a bowl of clear and flavourful soup. Toppings include pieces of fish cakes, springy fish balls, blood jelly and shredded duck meat. Add-ons, such as a whole duck drumstick, its liver or gizzard, are also available.

Just a very mention of Curry Mee and most Malaysians will be gleefully thinking about the delicious hawker food staple that has satisfied the nation for years. The dish itself is unique to Malaysia, with its combination of yellow noodles and vermicelli with the spicy coconut milk laden soup. Commonly, the soup would be spiced up with additional chilli paste, and topped with dried tofu pok (tau pok), prawns and cuttlefish.

There are several variations of curry mee in Malaysia; however this is the most telling Penang version. What differentiate Penang Curry Mee from the others are the ingredients used; besides the aforementioned there is also additional pig’s coagulated blood cubes and bloody cockles. Even though society in general is moving towards a healthier palate, most believe that Penang’s Curry Mee will not taste as good without them.

Throughout the island there are numerous stalls offering this mouth-watering curry mee, with each of them offering its own version of soup and ingredients. The soup varies from a reddish coconut based broth to a lighter pale color, affectionately known to locals as White Curry Mee.

*** Updated July 2013 – This Bak Moi stall has since shifted into Hon Kei Food Corner, located a few shops down the road

Ho Ping in Penang is arguably a good place to head for hawker food. This double-storey coffee shop located at the junction of Penang Road and Kampung Malabar is popular with the locals and also tourists staying at the nearby hotels.

The coffee shop has rented the space to several hawkers. One popular stall is the bak moi stall serving warming, comforting bak moi (pork porridge). There is no signboard to indicate the stall which is run by Y.C. Lai, owner of this third generation hawker food business.

Hawker food features prominently in the culinary culture in the state of Penang. Across the industry there are always places that constantly make headlines while others tend to be excellent but underrated, and the New Cathay Coffee Shop is classified as the latter.

Located along Lorong Kuching right off the ever bustling Burmah Road, this coffee shop is one of the decent places to sample a plethora of Penang’s street hawker fare. A favorite mostly with the locals, it begins to fill up as early as 7.30 in the morning and is absolutely packed during the peak hours of ten in the morning right through two in the afternoon.

For those opting for a lighter snack, the apom manis (Indian style pan cake) stall right beside the shop is an excellent alternative. Interestingly, the owner still maintains the tradition of using charcoal stoves and clay pots.

Ping Hooi coffee shop is the place where visitors get to enjoy a plethora of noodles and snacks for breakfast and lunch. This old-style coffee shop with several food stalls has its frontage facing the bustling Carnarvon Street and its side facing Malay Street.

Hawker stalls lined up the side of this corner coffee shop while the other side of the wall is lined with wooden cubicles. This coffee shop is one of the places to sample duck drumstick noodle, also known as Arp Tui Mee.